( A new bird to science was recently disc...)New bird discovered on unexplored Columbian mountain

The new brush-finch was described by an Anglo-Colombian team of biologists including Thomas Donegan (Fundación ProAves) and Blanca Huertas (Natural History Museum and University College London), following their leadership of the first biological exploration of the Yariguíes mountains. The description was published in the June issue of the scientific journal Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club (Vol. 126: June 2006).

The new bird is named for the Yariguies indigenous people who formerly inhabited the mountain range where the bird was found. A large and colorful finch with black, yellow and red plumage, the new species differs from its closest relatives in having a black back and no white markings on its wings. It also is found in other nearby mountains in Colombia's eastern Andean range. Genetic, morphological and vocal studies have confirmed its identity as a new taxon.

"Before we began this study, no one knew what species lived in the Yariguíes Mountains and whether they needed protecting," said Thomas Donegan. "Now, we are beginning to describe new taxa and a national park was established in the region. It is surprising that this new brush-finch and the forests of the Yariguíes Mountains could remain unstudied, undescribed and unprotected for so long."

This description is noteworthy in that one of the two birds caught by the team and used in the description as a type specimen was released unharmed, a DNA sample and photographs having been taken. This is the first time that a live specimen has been used for the description of a new bird following the approval by the International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature of such techniques last year.

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Source:Conservation International